Pirates on Shili
by Little 'Soka
Summary: Taking place after episode VI, Ahsoka Tano and her red Twi'lek "padawan" Jai Suunta are living in a swampy forest valley on Shili, Ahsoka's home world. The Togruta people are currently fighting against Weequay pirates who have overrun the contanent where Ahsoka and Jai live. The former Jedi and her padawan are hard-pressed to help the Togruta people...when unexpected help comes...
1. Chapter 1

The lone Togruta sat cross-legged on the floor of her hut, staring vacantly out the window. She could hear Jai outside, practicing his lightsaber drills. It had been hard to find the materials needed to construct the red Twi'lek's weapon. Rocking her head, Ahsoka counted the beats between strikes, just as she knew her master had once done for her.

Master… Her thoughts stopped there. Fifty-odd years later, and the pain was still as strong as it had been the day she had walked away from the Jedi Order. A tear slipped down her cheek. It was worse than when she had left. Since then, Order 66 had killed and scattered the Jedi, her master had gone to the Dark Side, and then been killed by the late Darth Sidious, Senator Palpatine.

After Ahsoka found out about Darth Vader, she had gone to the planate Cato Neimoidia. She wasn't sure why, until she saw the unthinkable; Master Plo Koon's ship flying toward her. His clone troopers were trying to shoot him down. She had seen Plo's ship go down, and ran to the crash site. How anyone could survive such a crash was beyond her. But she could feel that he was still alive…though fading fast. Ahsoka had been with her oldest friend as he died. She could hear his last words clearly.

"Little 'Soka…" Plo had whispered. "Don't…hate th—" a cough wracked his body. "Don't hate the…clones…or your…your master…"

Ahsoka was jerked back to the present. Something wasn't right, she could feel it. The typical jungle sounds were all there, so nothing was too close. Yet. Then, she heard it. Shouting, running feet, and a blaster. The birds went ominously quiet. Ahsoka jumped as her door slid open with more force than usual. Jai came in, looking excited.

"Master, pirates are coming!" He all but shouted. "But they're being chased!"

Ahsoka snatched up her dual lightsabers. "Come with me." She ordered. "But stay behind me until we know who's fighting and who's running!"

As they burst from their home, the first of the pirates were just coming into the clearing. They saw the two Jedi, who stood still, waiting to see what would happen. The pirates fell into confusion, finally scattering behind trees, bushes, and Ahsoka's home, shooting every which way.

Between the lightsabers of the two Jedi, and the blasts from the pirate's unseen attackers, theWeequays were quickly subdued. Three quarters of them were dead before they finally gave up and scattered. Silence descended over the forest. Ahsoka, lightsabers still ignited, moved forward, peering into dense trees.

She could sense something. It felt familiar, yet completely different. Jai crept behind her, not sure what to make of the situation. Neither did Ahsoka. She didn't sense the Dark Side, which confused her as well.

Ahsoka spun sideways, just in time to block the blast from an unseen foe. This time, she heard muffled voices. Then, someone jumped out, swinging his ligtsaber down—not to kill, but merely to force the Togruta back. Blocking, Ahsoka Force-pushed him back. As he crashed to the ground, a woman stepped into the open. All three looked at each other and gasped.

"_Master_?" Ahsoka gasped. "_Padme! _What on earth is going on here?"

As the man climbed to his feet, Ahsoka could now see it wasn't Anakin.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey guys, Little 'Soka here...this chapter is somewhat void of action, but it explains a lot, so it was necissary for me to write before I went on to the action. More chapters soon, I promise :)_

There were three people standing in front of the Togruta, and two of them bore striking resemblance to Anakin and Padme. Those two were also carrying lightsabors.

"Anakin was our father." The woman said in a low voice. "And Padme our mother. How did you know them?"

Ahsoka looked away for a moment. "I was Anakin's padawan during the Clone Wars." She whispered. "I'm Ahsoka Tano. And this is my padawan, Jai."

Stepping forward, blond-haired man made the traditional Togruta greeting gesture. "I am Luke Skywalker, my sister Leia, and her husband, Han Solo."

Ahsoka nodded to each of them. "Come to my home, we may eat and talk there."

Leading the way back to her hut, Ahsoka fell deep into thought. She wondered how long Anakin had known Padme was pregnant. There wasn't a lot of time from the time she left the Order to the time of Order 66. She had heard rumors that Darth Vadar had killed Padme. Now she wondered how much of that dark time in her past was true. As they approached the ladder-steps leading to her door, she barely heard herself telling Jai to fetch the lintu fish and buriin drink from the cellar.

As Ahsoka ushered them into her home, Luke frowned slightly. "If you were Anakin's through the Clone Wars, how did you survive his turning to the Dark Side and Order 66?"

Ahsoka sighed as another wave of sorrow washed over her. "I left the Jedi Order not long before Order 66. Just before Master started his spiral to the Dark Side."

"Then Jai isn't your padawan." Han challenged.

Ahsoka shook her head. "Not in the technical sense, I suppose." She looked up as Jai staggered in, burdened with the food. "I will tell you the whole story after we eat."

Leaning back in his seat, Han let out a soft belch. "Now suppose you tell us your story," He suggested. "And we'll tell you ours."

Ahsoka took a deep breath and began. She told them about her padawanship to Anakin, how he had been her hero, like a brother to her. When she recounted the adventure on Mortis, her guests were very interested.

"So it was like the…embodiment…of the Force?" Luke asked, fascinated.

Ahsoka hesitated. "Yes. And no. It was the strangest thing I ever felt. I never felt the Force so strongly. And I never saw Mortis again. It was destroyed when the Father destroyed himself, I suppose. I don't remember it well. And yet I remember it perfectly. It was the strangest thing."

She went on to tell them about the Nightsisters, Ventress, Darth Maul and Savage, up to the point of her leaving the Jedi Order.

"I don't believe Master Yoda truly thought I was guilty." She said sadly. "But they couldn't prove anything. Master Windu…he was a wise Jedi. But as Barriss said, the Order was corrupt. The Jedi were being blinded by politics and Palpatine's deception only made it harder to see the truth.

"I was with Master Plo when Order 66 took his life. He told me not to hate the Clones, or my Master. At first I did, and had a near brush with the Dark Side. During that time I went to Ryloth. I spent years time there, going over and over what had happened in my life. I re-lived it every day. I finally realized something; Anakin didn't know what he was doing. Persons who are being lied to don't know it. So he thought he _was_ doing the right thing."

Ahsoka looked Jai as she spoke. "In the meantime, I continued to go over my Jedi rituals. I never thought of myself as anything but a Jedi. I was in one of the towns buying supplies when I heard shouting and laser blasts. I don't know what happened; only that someone screamed 'look out!' and used the Force Wave to shove me to safety. That's how I found Jai. So I took him in, and promised to teach him all I could about the ways of the Force. He was quite young then."

"So how did you wind up in this mud-hole?" Han asked. Leia cleared her throat. "I mean this swamp jungle lovely location?"

Ahsoka smiled in amusement. Leia reminded her so much of Padme. But it was Jai who answered Han's question.

"My parents were killed in an explosion." He said quietly. "They happened to be in the wrong place at the right time. After that, neither Master nor I wanted to stay on Ryloth. So we came here. We chose this spot because it's fairly remote, so there's less of a chance the Emperor would catch up with us. Now tell us your story!"

Ahsoka opened her mouth to tell her padawan to be patient, but was shocked to hear herself say: "So, what _is_ the story, Sky-Guy?"

Every jaw at the table dropped, except Han's who grinned widely. "That's more like it." He thought.

"_What_ did you just call me?" Luke finally managed to sputter. Ahsoka didn't answer. She sat in total shock, mortified. Leia seemed to sense her confusion.

"That's what you called Anakin, isn't it?" She asked.

Despite herself, a smile tugged at the corners of Ahsoka's mouth as she nodded. Jai let fly a little laugh. Soon they were all laughing, and Ahsoka felt herself relax for the first time in years. Once the laughter died down, her guests took turns explaining what had happened from the time the Jedi went into hiding to the death of Darth Vadar.

"So he came back to the light, in the end." Ahsoka said, rocking her head. "That gives my heart much peace." She frowned. "But why did you come here?"

Han answered. "We wouldn't be involved at all if the Millennium Falcon hadn't crashed. I still say it was sabotage!"

"He can never admit his ship is a rust bucket." Leia stated. "We needed supplies, and were going to get them when pirates attacked. We were forced to get involved to defend ourselves, and haven't been able to leave since."

"That was three months ago." Luke elaborated. "That blasted Weequay leader knows how to hide ships alright! We heard from a rebellious pirate that the Falcon was hidden near here…probably in this jungle! That's how we got here."

Ahsoka gave a short laugh. "Most pirates are rebellious. Where is this pirate?"

"The pirate leader shot him." Leia answered. "After they learned about his treachery. We waited several weeks before we tried to come here, in the hopes that the pirate outpost would give up and leave."

"So _that_'_s _were those pirates came from!" Jai exclaimed. "It's not the first combat I've been in, though. But the first in this forest. Would you like to see my lightsaber?" The eager Twi'lek jumped up to show Luke his lightsaber. "I haven't had a chance to build one of my own, though." He added sadly. Because Master Tano isn't really a Jedi, we've had no access to the caves for me to harvest my own crystal. But I took this one apart and reassembled it; to at least be able I've built my own."

Ahsoka sat deep in thought, inattentive to the talk of the others. She could help these people, and they could help her people. And it felt so good to be in the company of other Jedi—especially ones that didn't seem to mind using slightly unorthodox means to get what they needed.

As she went over a plan, she noticed Han watching her. When their eyes met, she knew they were thinking the same thing. But in from totally different points of view.

"Oh, no." Han sputtered. "You—no! I am going to get my ship back, and then we are out of here! We aren't here to help—to free your people! This is an internal matter, we can't get involved. I—just, no!"

Leia looked up, fire in her eyes. "What do you mean we're not going to help, Han Solo? We've already gotten involved, and this is our father's padawan! Of course we will help! And contact that furry side kick of yours. He'll be a big help, too!"

Han looked up at Ahsoka meekly. "So the plan is…?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"I couldn't contact Chewie." Han said grimly. "The blasted pirates must have jammed communications. What do we do now?"

Ahsoka looked up with a grimace. "We wait." She answered. "And plan what we're going to do. Taking back a continent isn't as easy as it sounds." Even though she sounded pessimistic, Ahsoka was happier than she had been in years. Being with other Jedi once again made her feel young again. At least fifty. She was already beginning to push the average life span of Togrutas, but her connection to the Force was giving her extra years.

Han gave a loud groan and sank into a chair. "And what will we be waiting for? The pirates to get bored and leave?" He complained. "I didn't come here to get involved in a battle we're not even fighting!"

"You sound like Anakin." Ahsoka scolded gently. Then she looked up at the other two. "It's a pity you never really got to know him. Now Jai, let's take a look at our options."

Jai pulled up a hologram image of the continent, zooming it in on the valley jungle where they lived. Shili was mainly a grasslands planet, but it had a few hidden valley forests. The one Ahsoka and her padawan lived in was relatively large compared to others.

"There aren't many ways out of this forest." Jai was saying. "Mainly because the majority of walls surrounding this one are cliffs. And from your report, we can assume all the obvious ones are being monitored." He indicated three locations on the hologram. "There are several hidden ways out of this valley." He turned to look at his audience. "If we can sneak out, we can disable the pirates guarding the entrances to the valley, then attack the surrounding outposts."

Ahsoka looked at Luke. "Do you have any idea how many outposts there are?"

Shaking his head, the Jedi examined the hologram. "No, I don't. The pirates aren't big on strategy. A lot of this is based on assumptions."

"We also have to take into consideration any hostage situations." Leia pointed out. "We don't have enough knowledge of the pirates' movements to come up with a good plan."

"Let's not forget, Jai and I _have_ gotten out some." Ahsoka said with mild sarcasm. "The pirates seem to be trying to copy what the Separatists did on Ryloth during the Clone Wars. And they probably figured that you were just the beginnings of reinforcements that are coming. That's why they've been watching this valley so closely."

Han walked over, scowling. "That still doesn't solve our problems. We don't have a plan, Chewie is unreachable, and I want the _Falcon_ back in one piece!"

"We do what my master taught me long ago." Ahsoka returned evenly. "We go from no plan A to ever-present plan B."

Han raised an eyebrow. "Which is…?"

"We improvise."

Luke stood. "Wait wait wait! We can't just go rushing in! And without help, we will be at a great disadvantage!"

"Since when was a Skywalker not impulsive?" Ahsoka teased. "It's not numbers that give us advantage. We can do this. Most pirates don't have strong minds; we can use the Force Mind Trick to get some to turn against each other. If we do it right, they'll start fighting among themselves, and we'll only have to worry about the leaders. We'll have to come up with something different for the villages, though."

Han was warming to the theme. "The outposts surely have ships that the pirates had to come in. Once we beat these guys here, we can take one of their ships, or hide on one, and just fly back to a village."

"What if they scan the ship?" Jai asked.

Ahsoka frowned thoughtfully. Then a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I've got it! Here's what we'll do…"

_This chapter was shorter, but important. Sometime within the next couple of days you'll find out Ahsoka's plan, and get some great action and fighting "scenes". Hope you enjoyed, and let me know what you think! Also, give me suggestions on what should happen next! I might use some J ~ _Little Soka


	4. Chapter 4

Hedain Orsur scanned the borders of the jungle valley. The Weequay pirate grumbled to himself. They were supposed to be taking the meat that the Togrutas harvested, not watching a jungle for a few Jedi. They were probably long gone by this point, anyway. Then, to his surprise, his scanners let out a warning beep.

"What the…?" he looked more closely. These were not animals; they were sentient life forms, heading right for him. Snatching up his blaster, he went to hit the alarm button on his communicator. Just before his finger reached the button, the small device flew off his wrist—right into the hand of a red Twi'lek boy. Raising his gun, Hedain prepared to destroy the brat. But he stopped, as the youth smiled grimly.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." Was all Jai said, before a blinding flash of pain exploded in the pirate's head, and he fell senseless at the padawan's feet.

Han looked at the faces around him. "Sorry!" he said. "I threw that rock a little harder than I intended."

"And just why did you throw it?" Ahsoka demanded. "We wanted an _awake_ pirate, not one that is sleeping like a rock!"

Making an irritated gesture, Han replied crisply. "I threw it because your padawan didn't have any means of protection! He left his saber with you, remember!"

"That was part of the plan!" Luke exploded.

Leia interrupted them before they could argue any more. "Can it already! The plan is still going to work, if we keep moving. That pirate will come to soon, and we can use him or another, it doesn't matter. Let's just get on with it."

Ahsoka smirked. "Even the diplomat of the Skywalker clan is impatient. We can use this one." She looked out of the tall grass at her padawan, who was kneeling over the pirate and looking confused. "He looks like he's starting to come to…come on!"

Hedain, as it turned out, was extremely easy for Luke to convince using the Force Mind Trick. He obediently secured the "prisoners", loaded them onto a transport ship, and took them back to the pirate base.

"Authorization requested." A mechanical voice buzzed over the intercom.

Hedain looked at the Jedi, who nodded. "Hedain Orsur, with prisoners from the eastern-quadrant hidden valley forest."

"That computes." The voice said after a brief pause. "You are to proceed to the Central Station, where the boss has headquarters set up."

As the ship landed, Ahsoka looked at the others. "If all goes according to plan, which it probably won't, wait for my signal. If it doesn't go according to plan, wait for my signal anyway. Got it?"

There was no time to answer, so the group nodded to her as they were roughly ushered out of the ship. Blinking in the bright sunlight, Ahsoka looked around in surprise. No Togrutas were anywhere to be seen, even though they were in a settlement. She made a mental not to ask her "captors".

As other Weequays took over in leading them, Hedain wandered off, apparently lost while still under the control of Luke and Ahsoka. They looked at each other worriedly. _Let's hope he doesn't get away and ruin things for us_! The Togruta thought.

Coming around a building, they found themselves entering a bar. Ahsoka gasped as she saw the person referred to as "boss". He could have been Hondo Ohnaka.

"Welcome!" He sounded like Hondo, too. "Welcome to the newest conquest of Cardon Ohnaka, the planet Shili!"

"That's a stretch!" Ahsoka returned. "Since you've only taken over a continent!"

Ignoring her, he turned to one of his men. "Well, come on now, let me see their weapons, let me see them!"

Taking the light sabers, his eyes widened. "Jedi! Well well well! This is a prize indeed. My father Hondo (may he rest in peace!) always said, if you can capture a Jedi, you are as good as rich and retired. Not that a pirate ever retires, mind you!"

"You're more serious than Hondo." Ahsoka couldn't help saying. "But still just as foolish!"

Pandemonium broke out as the three Jedi Force-Jumped up and over the heads of their captors, pulling their light sabers to themselves as they landed.

"Who didn't secure their hands behind their backs!" Shouted Cardon. "What are you fools waiting for, blast them, blast them!"

Ahsoka and Luke were back-to-back, fighting desperately to keep the pirates at bay. Cutting down a pirate, Leia tossed his blaster to Han.

"Their hands are still tied! How can they be beating you?" Demanded Cardon, before throwing himself into the fray. He still had Ahsoka's short Shoto blade, and swung it toward her head while she was engaged with another pirate. Sensing this, the Togruta jumped forward into the Weequay she was fighting. She cried out as the light saber grazed the side of her lekku.

Han, meanwhile, was having problems of his own. The blaster he had was excellent, but it didn't keep the pirates at bay. "When in doubt, start a fist fight!" He muttered to himself.

"Was this part of the plan?" shouted Leia. "Because I don't remember this in our briefing!"

"Don't worry!" Ahsoka answered. "Jai will make sure everything is okay, so you can relax!"

If looks could kill, the glare Leia sent would have knock Ahsoka dead. But then she was forced to concentrate on three pirates who seemed particularly angry. She disposed of one without a problem. Cutting off the arm of the second one, she had to turn and face the third one. He distracted her enough for his companion to pull a knife and charge toward the woman, ready to kill. Just as he reached her, she jumped out of the way, landing behind him. As she spun around, the Weequays crowded toward her, as she had hoped. Putting her light saber up to the first one's chest, she ignited it, running both pirates though.

Ahsoka was having her own troubles. Cardon had no skill with the light saber, but he also had a blaster pistol, and he was using both. She blocked his clumsy strikes easily, until he started shooting at her. Parrying his strokes while blocking the blasts from his gun was an adventure, but one she was desperate to end.

"Ahsoka!" It was Luke. "I need a hand!"

"Kinda busy here!" She shouted.

"Stop goofing around and help!" Han shouted, dodging a fist.

"Does it _look _like I'm having fun!" Ahsoka snarled in exasperation. She looked up, and saw Jai, waving. "_DUCK!_"

Her friends hit the floor as an explosion tore a hole in the rear wall and rattled windows. Jumping up, the group ran for the door, Ahsoka snatching up her Shoto blade in the process.

"After them! Do not let them escape!" Shouted Cardon.

"Well that didn't go as planned!" Han grumbled. "There aren't even any of your people here!"

"That's what's so strange about all this;" Ahsoka panted. "There are no people. But since when did pirates transfer people and take on all the work?"

A blast from a speeder cut short their conversation. The group doubled their speed, but found themselves surrounded. Han cursed under his breath, but all of them prepared to fight.

"Ah how noble and touching!" Mocked Hondo's son. "You know you will be killed but you try to survive as long as possible." His voice hardened. "I am not going to kill you. Drop your weapons!"

Reluctantly, the group obeyed. They were put in shackles once more, and unceremoniously draped over the front of the speeders.

"When we get back, I want them frozen in carbonite. They will bring a hansome price for wall decore, don't you think?" The other pirates laughed. "Not the little one though. I know someone who would pay for a healthy one like this. Take them away!"


End file.
